CDC study reports certain developmental disabilities on the rise
Boyle C. Pediatrics.
2011;doi:10.1542/peds.2010-2989.
Advances in classifying developmental disabilities, as well as increases
in services, have led to increases in the number of children diagnosed with
these disabilities, according to a study published online this week.
Coleen A. Boyle, PhD, and colleagues from the National Center on
Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities at the CDC said between 2006 and
2008, nearly one in six children had a reported developmental disability such
as autism or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
CDC researchers looked at data from approximately 119,000 children
enrolled in the 1997-2008 National Health Interview Surveys (NHIS) to examine
the prevalence of
developmental disabilities.
The researchers said the median prevalence of any developmental
disability in that time period was about 14%, with most of the increases in
ADHD and autism diagnoses. The overall prevalence increased from 12.84% to
15.04%.
Advances in classifying these disorders, as well as improvements in
identifying them, contributed to the growing numbers of developmental
disabilities, the researchers said, adding that this decade has seen an
increase in other risk factors for developmental disabilities, including
increased
preterm births, older parental age and the use of
hormonal infertility treatments.
“Additional study of the influence of risk-factor shifts, changes
in acceptance and benefits of early services is needed,” they concluded.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial
disclosures.
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Paul
H. Lipkin
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This striking rise in prevalence of the developmental disabilities can
be attributed to both improved public health surveillance and improvements in
maternal-child health care. This wide spectrum of disabilities, from mild to
severe, will require increasing time, attention and expertise from pediatric
health care providers in the next decade.
-Paul H. Lipkin, MD
Infectious Diseases
in Children Editorial Board member